How to check in online with Easyjet

If you're flying with Easyjet, online check-in is free and takes place on the airline's website or in its app, from 30 days before departure. Before heading to the airport, you need to have completed online check-in and have your boarding pass with you, either printed or as a mobile boarding pass. There are a few exceptions, which we'll come to below.

In this guide, we explain step by step how to check in online with Easyjet, when it opens and closes, which boarding pass formats you can use and which one isn't accepted, and the deadlines you need to meet once you're at the airport.

Before you start, make sure you have the following ready:

• Your booking reference and the passenger's surname, or the email address and password of the account you booked with

• Your passport or ID card, which you'll need to confirm your details.

If you don't have the booking reference, contact whoever made the booking or your travel agency, so you can check in online and avoid delays at the airport.

On some routes, you'll also be asked for Advance Passenger Information (API), a requirement imposed by local authorities that airlines must comply with. In these cases you'll need to give your full name, date of birth, nationality, gender where required, document number, country of issue and expiry date. API has to be entered before check-in, and can be added up to 2 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Easyjet online check-in takes just a few minutes and can be completed on the official website or in the airline's app. Once you're done, you can keep your boarding pass in the app or print it.

To check in online with Easyjet:

1. Go to the check-in section of the Easyjet website, or open the app.

2. Access your booking with your booking reference and the passenger's surname, or sign in to Manage Bookings with your email address and password, where you can also make changes to your booking.

3. Enter the details you're asked for, including Advance Passenger Information if your flight requires it.

4. Complete check-in and get your boarding pass, which you can keep in the app or print.

If you change your booking after checking in, for example by adding hold luggage or switching flights, you'll need to check in again and get a new boarding pass. The old one is no longer valid.

As mentioned above, online check-in can be completed on the web or in the app. Below you'll find the differences between the two options.

With Easyjet the online check-in window is the same for everyone: it doesn't depend on the fare you bought or on your seat.

One thing to bear in mind is seating. If you haven't bought a seat, Easyjet allocates one to you at random when you check in. The airline says it does what it can to seat people who booked together next to each other, but it also makes clear that it can't guarantee this, particularly when check-in is completed shortly before departure. So if you're travelling as a family or a group and you haven't bought seats, checking in early improves your chances of sitting together.

Finally, don't confuse the closing time for online check-in with the opening hours of the desks at the airport: they're two different things. Online check-in closes 2 hours before departure, while bag drop follows its own schedule, which varies from airport to airport and which we come to below.

With Easyjet, online check-in isn't an optional step. Before you go to the airport you have to have completed it and have your boarding pass with you, either printed or as a mobile boarding pass. So there's no airport check-in to buy as an alternative service, as there is with other low-cost airlines.

If online check-in fails because of a technical problem, Easyjet says to try again later. If the problem persists, ask the ground staff at the airport, but you need to do that before bag drop closes, and that time varies from airport to airport.

If you're travelling with an infant under two in their own separate seat, the infant needs their own boarding pass. You may not be able to check in online, so Easyjet says that if you run into difficulty you should check in at the airport at least 2 hours before your flight. If the infant is travelling on your lap, they don't need a boarding pass at all.

What to do at the airport

Once you've completed online check-in, what you need to do at the airport depends on your baggage.

• If you have checked baggage, you'll need to drop it off at bag drop before the closing time that applies at your airport.

• If you're travelling with hand luggage only and you already have your boarding pass, in most cases you can head straight to security (some airports are an exception).

Finally, remember that the gate closes 30 minutes before departure on all flights, while bag drop opening and closing times vary from airport to airport. Always check these times on your booking confirmation and on the Easyjet website. These times are worked out from the scheduled departure time and, unless you're told otherwise, they don't change if your flight is delayed. Make sure you stick to them to avoid being denied boarding.

You checked in on time, well within the deadline, and you were at the gate exactly when you should have been. And yet a cancellation, a delayed flight or overbooking can still get in the way of your plans, even with a confirmed booking.

In these cases, if the airline is responsible, European Regulation EC 261/2004 entitles you to compensation of up to €600 per passenger. The right to compensation applies to arrival delays of more than 3 hours, to cancellations announced without sufficient notice (more details here) and to denied boarding due to overbooking.

Working out whether you're entitled to compensation, and how to claim it from the airline, isn't always easy. To find out more, read our guide to Easyjet compensation. Alternatively, you can check for free with AirHelp: just enter your flight details to find out in moments whether you're entitled to financial compensation.

Track your Easyjet flight after check-in

Once online check-in is done, the wait for your flight begins. From that point on it's always a good idea to keep an eye on your flight status, especially if you have connections or someone picking you up when you land.

On the Easyjet website you'll find Flight Tracker, the tool that shows arrivals and departures in real time. The same feature is available in the airline's app, which sends real-time updates on your flight's departure and arrival. There's also the free AirHelp app, which adds one more feature: if your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, is cancelled, or you're denied boarding, the app automatically checks whether you're entitled to compensation under Regulation EC 261/2004 and alerts you directly.

With the AirHelp app you can:

• receive real-time notifications about delays, cancellations, gate changes and baggage carousels;

• scan your boarding pass to add your flight quickly;

• share your flight status with whoever is picking you up;

• automatically check whether a disruption entitles you to compensation of up to €600;

• start your compensation claim straight from the app, with no paperwork.

The app is free and available on iOS and Android.